Eligius Donicus

Eligius Donicus (85-152), sometimes known by his surname Donicus, was a general of the Roman Empire. Donicus was famed for his decisive victory over the Iceni at the 120 AD Battle of Wisbech, where he pacified Britannia in one battle.

Biography
Eligius Donicus was born in Arretium (present-day Arezzo, Italy) to a wealthy Roman family. His father Macrinus Donicus was a Roman statesman, while his mother Pomponia Pleminia was the daughter of a wealthy Syrian family. Donicus joined the Roman Army at the age of 20 in 102 AD, and he became a centurion in his mid-twenties. Donicus was a talented general, conducting campaigns against the Germanic tribes along the Elbe River. He reduced the land of the Marcomanni to ashes in a war against them in 116 AD, and in 119 AD he began his return journey to Rome after a satisfying fight. Emperor Hadrian had a problem with the Iceni's rebellion in Britannia at the same time, and he asked for Donicus to take command of an army of troops from all parts of the empire to crush the Iceni. He led this army out of Gaul and across the English Channel to Roman Britain, and in 120 AD Donicus and his army met the Iceni at the Battle of Wisbech. His army destroyed the Iceni in a decisive victory, and Donicus was hailed as a hero. Donicus was given estates in Julia Augusta Taurinorum (Turin, Italy) and Unica Colonia (Oran, Algeria) as a reward, and he later served Rome faithfully in Africa, fighting against the Garamantes. He died in 152 at the old age of 67.